This news item expired on 3/16/2013, so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.

Kick Butts Day - Youth Walk on March 16

Asheville teens are joining thousands of youth across the country who are taking part in Kick Butts Day, a nationwide initiative that empowers youth to stand up and speak out about the dangers of tobacco use. As part of a Kick Butts Day celebration, Teens from Asheville High School Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) Club are hosting a walk on March 16 to raise awareness about the harms of tobacco use, encourage youth to stay tobacco-free, and urge our community to take action on tobacco policies.

Representative Susan Fisher and City Councilmember Cecil Bothwell will both join the celebration to support the efforts.

Community members can join the walk at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville on March 16. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m for the 9:00 a.m. two-mile walk in downtown Asheville. T-shirts are available to the first 75 participants with a suggested donation of $5.

Each day more than 1,000 youth become regular smokers: one third of them will die prematurely from a tobacco related illness. Teens are a powerful solution to reducing tobacco use. “We are working to save our peers from a deadly addiction that kills more than 1,200 people a day, says Tyler Long, TATU President. “We know that 90% of tobacco users start using tobacco at or before age 18.”